Initiation
by Kalta79
Summary: A young Reno gets in over his head with the local gang, which starts him on the path to the Turks. His name isn't Reno yet though. New chapters don't have breaks between different scenes because I'm having trouble editing and uploading stories right now.
1. Chapter 1

Duncan screamed in agony as the brands were applied to his face, but part of him hoped the searing pain meant they weren't going to kill him. They ripped open his shirt and were about to brand his chest when they were interrupted.

"What do you think you're doing?" A female voice asked the men holding down and branding Duncan.

"Teaching this little street rat a lesson." One of the men replied. "We caught trying to steal from us. Once we're done with him, people will know what the Midgar Tongs do to thieves."

"Let him up." The woman commanded them as she approached the table. When Duncan sat up on the table, she stared at the still slightly smoking burn marks next to his eyes, then her eyes roamed all over his body. "How old are you?" she asked him.

"Old enough." Duncan tried to act braver than his fourteen year-old self felt, distracted by the realization that she was standing between his legs as they hung over the side of the table. She seemed older than him, but not by much. And she was pretty, but there was something in her green eyes, or more specifically, not in her eyes that he found disturbing.

"Can we finish now?" One of the men interrupted. "He doesn't need all his fingers, you know."

"We might have use for someone who has the balls to try and steal from us. Leave us." she ordered the men, who stayed where they stood until she turned her head slowly to look at them, and they blanched and left. "By the way, my name is Fiona Campbell, what's yours?" she asked Duncan as she put her hands on his thighs.

"Duncan Sinclair." he admitted after she gave him a look that chilled him.

Fiona smiled. "I knew you had to be Scottish. That's why I called off the dogs, they're only the hired hands, so to speak. Would you mind joining us?" she asked as she lifted up one of her hands to stroke his red hair, then caressed his cheek, moving her hand down to his chest. "We could use a real Scotsman in our midst."

"Do I have a choice?" Duncan asked, confused as to what she was doing. No girl had ever touched him like this before, though Fiona was obviously no girl, if she was in charge of this gang.

"Oh, of course you do, Duncan. It's just a question of how many fingers you think you'll need." Fiona smiled again, but now there something ugly to it.

"Why'd you spare me, then?" Duncan asked.

"It's not just the Tongs who need a real Scotsman in their midst, I do too." Fiona kissed him expertly while she unzipped his ratty jeans, and Duncan froze when he felt his body respond to the unfamiliar stimulation. "You've never done this before." She guessed correctly, pausing as she felt him tense up. "Well, at least I can teach you how to do things right, Mr. Old Enough."

Duncan was conflicted, part of him felt uncomfortable with Fiona, but he also wanted to experience sex. She undressed them both, and Duncan laid back down on the table at her command. Fiona lightly fingered him until he hardened, then she mounted him, and a cross between a sign and a groan escaped Duncan's lips as he found himself inside a woman for the first time. Fiona rode him until they both cried out. Duncan realized he was panting from the overwhelming experience of his first orgasm. Fiona smiled again as she caressed his chest.

"Now you're ready to be one of us, aren't you?" she asked, and Duncan nodded. "I'll have Gavin teach you our ways. But I get to teach you _my_ ways, understand?" Fiona ran her fingers roughly over Duncan's brands, smiling as he flinched from the pressure on his still tender skin.

Duncan had a strong suspicion that he had just gotten in over his head, all because he tried to steal the wrong wallet to buy some food. In the two years he had been on the streets, not wanting to rely on someone again who could leave him like his parents did when they died in a train wreck, he had a few close calls, having found it necessary to steal in his new hand-to-mouth existence, but nothing as bad as this. For all Fiona seemed to act like the Tongs were one big happy family, he had heard enough rumours, supported by his own experience, that his luck had finally run out and he was firmly on his way to damnation as she took his hands and put them on her breasts.


	2. Chapter 2

Fiona cried out and clawed at Duncan's backside as he thrust into her. In the six months since he had 'joined' the Tongs, he had learned that Fiona was the 20 year-old daughter of their leader, who was currently incarcerated in an unknown location. And that she was running things in his absence, which didn't make the underlings all too happy, given her slightly sadistic bent and their worries about her occasional mental instability. Fiona also was constantly looking for new flesh to entertain her, and Duncan knew that his survival depended on keeping her happy while he somehow made himself indispensable to the gang so if she got bored with him, they'd still keep him.

"That was incredible." Fiona breathed as her body still quivered. Even though he was still regarded as a child and nothing more than one of her 'toys' by the other members of the Tongs, she had found to her delight that he was stronger than he looked, and he was also blessed with naturally high stamina and agility. He was smart too, he had quickly learned what she liked and what was expected of him by the Tongs.

"It's time." Gavin called through her bedroom door, knocking on it as well.

"We'll have to cut it short today." Fiona told Duncan, frowning at the interruption.

"This shouldn't take too long, we'll be back soon." Duncan said as he zipped his brand new jeans up, one of the perks of being a Tong, he always had proper clothes. He had been surprised to learn that Gavin was her brother, but not the one in charge. Apparently Fiona was much beloved by her father, and he had chosen her to take over the Tongs if he was gone.

"You better be." Fiona ran her fingers over his burn scars, which had healed just fine and made him look older and more threatening.

"Nothing to worry about." Duncan easily understood her warning of what would happen to him if he failed today. He opened the door only enough to leave her room, closing it behind him, turning to face Gavin.

"The rest of us are waiting on you in the car." Gavin told Duncan. "Hope you can handle this, pretty boy."

Duncan ignored him as he walked down the hallway, putting his shirt back on. He had gotten used to the other Tongs thinking of him as nothing but Fiona's bitch, but he'd show them today.

Fiona opened her door, wearing a robe as she stared hard at her brother. "I don't want any mistakes today, understand?"

"We know what we're doing. No promises about your latest conquest, though." Gavin replied.

"If he screws up, then just get rid of him, dummy." Fiona snapped and slammed her door shut in his face. She really didn't want to lose Duncan as a lover, not with his natural physical abilities, but the Tongs were her father's legacy to her, and she wasn't going to let anyone ruin it.

Duncan got in the car, and ended up sandwiched between two of the Tong's huge thugs in the backseat, their names were Peter and David, or so they gruffly replied to his question. Gavin soon followed, getting into the passenger seat, and then the driver, a man named Elliot, took off once everyone was properly buckled in to avoid trouble. Eventually they got to their destination, two blocks away from the Midgar First National Bank.

"Everyone ready?" Gavin asked. When everyone agreed, he undid his seatbelt and got out of the car, opening the trunk. When everyone was out of the car as well, he handed them their briefcases and bank deposit bags. Then looking around to make sure there were no prying eyes, he put a timed bomb under the car.

They approached the bank, ducking into the alleyway right next to it, and taking the ski masks and gloves out of Gavin's briefcase, putting them on before unzipping the bank deposit bags and putting their hands on the guns inside. Gavin looked on his watch. "Two minutes left."

The car bomb went off on schedule, and as confused patrons ran out of the bank to see what was going on, Gavin nodded to his cohorts in crime. "Okay, let's do this!" he said, and they rushed into the bank.

Peter and David instantly shot out the security cameras, while Gavin and Duncan made sure all those left in the bank came and laid face down in the lobby. Finding the bank manager, they made him open the vault, and Duncan noticed a security guard lift his head up and start reaching for something around his ankle. Gavin noticed it too, and while Peter and David filled the deposit bags and briefcases with loot from the vault, he aimed his gun at the guard's head. Duncan was quicker however, and seeing a live wire from the security cameras dangling down from where it was shot, he grabbed it and applied it to the security guard, who tensed up and then went limp. Peter and David hurried out of the vault, and they all went outside, where Elliot was waiting for them in a car he had jacked while they were robbing the bank. They piled into the car and took off their masks as he drove them to a bus transfer station five blocks away.

"You all know what buses to take. See you back at the house." Gavin said, before shoving the masks down into the storm drain.

"How'd it go?" Fiona asked them, once they were all back at the warehouse that served as their base.

Gavin took all the briefcases and bank deposit bags, opening them and dumping their contents onto the table. Money and jewels quickly filled the table, some falling to the ground.

Fiona's eyes gleamed. "We're rich!" she exclaimed, touching the diamond and pearl necklace. "So no problems?"

"Duncan's ideas worked out just fine." Gavin grudgingly admitted.

"Leave us." Fiona commanded them, taking Duncan's hand to keep him with her. Once the others left, she pushed him down on the table, and just about ripped open his jeans as he played along and unzipped her jeans. "I knew you wouldn't let us down." She kissed him before roughly taking him again, overly excited by the success of his first big job with the Tongs. Now she could keep him around a little longer, and maybe he would be able to pull off the next big job she wanted him to accomplish. Her cries of fulfillment sounded slightly different to Duncan, used to her occasional forcefulness as he was. It put him on his guard for whatever came next. He was just glad no one really got hurt, he didn't want blood on his hands.

"There are rumours the Tongs were behind the Midgar First National bank robbery." Tseng reported to Veld.

"I doubt that. This was a lot cleaner than their previous armed robberies. If they are behind it, it means they've got a new player who's smarter than them, and we could use that person. Keep me informed on their activities." Veld ordered Tseng, who nodded and left. "Yes, we could use someone new in our midst."


	3. Chapter 3

"What are you doing?" Fiona asked Duncan, walking into his room like she owned it, which was true enough.

"Making some alterations." The now seventeen year-old Duncan replied as he tinkered with his homemade taser weapon. Ever since the bank robbery, he had been searching for how to make his own, since it proved an effective weapon that would disable but not hurt people.

"You're supposed to be casing our next target." Fiona reproved him, putting her hands on his shoulders, then ran them down over his clothed chest. He had grown up quite a bit since their first meeting, which pleased Fiona to no end.

"Oh yeah." Duncan put his tools down and stood up, ignoring Fiona's complaint as he left abruptly.

Duncan took up his usual spot lounging on the park bench, but he was only half-watching the credit union. He was really watching the convalescent home. Right on cue, the daily delivery from the local florist shop arrived. Duncan liked watching the young delivery girl. She wasn't pretty by any means like Fiona, but she had a kind face that he found appealing. She carried in the load of flowers, and a few minutes later, she came out again and sat down on the steps, and seemed to be crying. Concerned, he got up and walked across the street to her.

"Penny for your thoughts?" he asked gently, but loud enough to be heard over her sobs.

The delivery girl lifted up her tearstained face and looked at Duncan. "I'm sorry." she said, wiping her cheeks off and starting to get up before stopped her.

"Don't be." Duncan sat down next to her. "What's wrong?"

"One of the patients died this morning. She was a widow, she liked orchids. Said her husband used to buy a rainbow bouquet of them for her for every special occasion. Her birthday, the birth of each of their children, their anniversary, holidays, things like that. I don't know why I'm upset, she always said when she was finally reunited with her husband, she'd have so much to tell him about all the time she's lived without him. That's why she never felt sad about being a widow, it was more like they were each taking solo trips, and soon they'd be together again." She didn't know why she was even talking like this to a stranger, but she had seen him frequently sitting on that park bench.

Duncan didn't know what to say. Love stories were something he had no experience with. All he knew was survival, but he was drawn to awkwardly pat her shoulder. Then he saw Gavin across the street gesturing at him.

"I gotta go." Duncan stood up and was about to leave when he paused. "What's your name?"

"I'm Anna Peterson." She managed a smile at him.

"I'm…Reno." Duncan said, getting the name off a license plate he saw going by, that read _R-E-3-4-N-O_.

"Nice to meet you, Reno." Anna managed a smile, then stood up as well. "I better get back to work myself."

"Aren't you forgetting your assignment?" Gavin told Duncan when he came back to the park bench.

"Nope, the credit union isn't going anywhere." Duncan flippantly replied.

Gavin frowned. "I'd stay away from that girl if I were you." he warned Duncan.

"You're not me. Good thing too, you'd get arrested for incest." Duncan felt secure enough in his position in the gang to disregard most of what Gavin said.

Gavin balled his good hand into a fist and Duncan just stared at him as Fiona drove up. "Dinner's in about an hour, let's go home now." she said. Gavin and Duncan silently got in the car, and Fiona drove them back to the warehouse.

After Duncan performed his nightly servicing of Fiona, he thought of Anna smiling at him, and how it didn't make him feel wary like Fiona's always did.

Over the next two weeks, Anna would smile and wave at Duncan when she made her deliveries, or come over and talk to him if she had time. Then one day, she didn't show up. Concerned again, he went to the florist shop she worked at.

"Is Anna here?" Duncan asked the first employee he saw.

"Anna! Someone to see you!" the man called out towards the back.

"Who would be here to see me?" Anna said, coming out, surprised to see Duncan there. "Oh, hello Reno."

"If this is a social call, take it outside." the male employee said, and Anna quietly told Duncan that was her boss. She took Duncan's hand and led him outside, and Duncan was surprised by the sensation he felt to have her warm hand in his.

"Why'd you come here?" Anna asked, once they were in the little alleyway on the side of the shop.

"You didn't come to the convalescent home today." Duncan explained.

"They can't afford to have flowers delivered anymore. I will miss visiting the patients there, but if it helps that place stay open, that's okay." Anna said regretfully.

Duncan thought of all the money he had saved up over the last few years. The Tongs provided him with room and board, so his money from the heists were all his, but he wasn't big on material possessions. "Maybe it doesn't have to be okay." he said. When Anna looked queryingly at him, he shrugged. "I'll see you tomorrow." On impulse he kissed her, and more unfamiliar sensations ran through his body. He let her go suddenly in confusion, and Anna braced herself against the shop wall as Duncan vanished.

The next day as Duncan sat on the bench watching the credit union, the florist's delivery van pulled up the convalescent home on schedule, and Anna had the biggest smile on her face Duncan had ever seen as she waved enthusiastically at him. She went inside with flowers, and Duncan was surprised when he felt a hand on his arm. It was Gavin.

"What are you doing here?" Duncan asked, annoyed to have his brief daily contact with Anna interrupted again, and he got more annoyed when Gavin didn't say anything, just sat down next to him.

Anna came out of the convalescent and saw him still there on the bench. "Reno, guess what?" she yelled to him excitedly, then started running across the street to him. "Someone donated oodles of-"

Duncan would never forget the sound of squealing tires and burning rubber as a car sped down the road directly towards Anna, or her horrified scream as the car hit her. The car then backed up and ran over her before speeding off.

" _ **ANNA**_!" Duncan yelled and would have run to her had Gavin not grabbed hold of him.

"It's too late." Gavin said without remorse. "You should know by now that my sister doesn't tolerate competition. Let's get out of here before trouble arrives." He drug a stunned Duncan to his own car and drove him back to the warehouse.

"This was taken at the scene of a hit-and-run this evening, courtesy of the nearby credit union's exterior security cameras." Tseng handed Veld a picture of Gavin restraining Duncan.

"And what concern is this of mine?" Veld asked.

"We believe they're part of the Tongs and were planning to hit the credit union next. The red-headed one has been seen on the park bench across the street for weeks. The florist girl that was hit seemed to be a friend of his. And it was no accident, she was deliberately run down. There may be an internal problem with the Tongs." Tseng explained.

"Well, we need to capture them all anyway, to find out who we want to keep, and who we want to dispose of." Veld looked closer at the picture, then called up a file on his computer. "I know just the bait we need to make sure we capture them all. You'll get your new assignment in the morning." Veld dismissed Tseng.


	4. Chapter 4

"Tomorrow's another big day." Fiona appeared in Duncan's doorway wearing nothing but a robe that was a mix of the Campbell and Sinclair tartans, as if to say they were a married couple.

"Yeah, so we should get some sleep now." Duncan was already in his bed and turned his light off. He couldn't stand the sight of Fiona. He saw nothing but Anna's broken and bleeding body when he looked at her now.

Fiona paused…ever since she ran over that little tramp, her Duncan hadn't been the same. His new emotionless state almost frightened her. And that little florist girl didn't even have the decency to die, she was technically still alive, now a resident of the convalescent home where she met Duncan. But chances are she would never wake up from her coma. Fiona considered that punishment enough for anyone who thought that Duncan was free for the taking. He was her stud, she had broken and trained him, he was hers alone.

"We should relax and then sleep." Fiona said and crawled into his bed.

Duncan ignored her. They hadn't had sex since she tried to kill Anna, and if it never happened again, that was just fine. He didn't care anymore what happened to him. Fiona knew his body too well though, and before he knew it, he was inside her again, and his release was tinged with disgust, every time Fiona demanded more of him. Finally she was satiated enough to go to sleep, curled up against him like they were real lovers. Duncan stayed awake, staring at the ceiling. As much as he hated Fiona, he hated himself more. Not only for his body wanting hers, but because it was his fault Anna was just a comatose shell. He had gotten too complacent with his life with the Tongs, thinking that just because his place was secure, there would be no consequences for his actions. Fiona might have driven the car, but it was his hands Anna's innocent blood was on.

The next morning, when Fiona woke up and wanted some good luck, he didn't refuse her. He was no different than them anymore, why fight it? There was no way out for him, after all. They successfully made their fortune hitting the credit union up on that Saturday when there were fewer customers and employees. They were stunned to see a manila envelope addressed to _The Tongs_ in their getaway car. When they got back to the warehouse, Fiona opened the envelope and gasped as she looked at the contents.

"It's Daddy!" she exclaimed, pulling a picture out, and everyone got closer to her to look at the envelope contents, except Duncan, who started dividing the loot. There were only the four of them now, Fiona, Gavin, himself, and Elliot. Peter and David were gone. Duncan had found out they were ones who told Fiona about Anna, and he had secretly taken pictures of them in bed together, and made flyers that he put up all over the warehouse. In two days, it was like they never existed as Tongs, or anywhere else for that matter.

"Thanks for leading us to your hideout." A voice surprised them, and two gas canisters were thrown in, one near Duncan, the second landing near the others.

When the Tongs woke up, they were all shackled to chairs in some kind of room, with a big mirror on one wall. Veld was watching through the other side of the two-way mirror, when Tseng came in with a folder.

"Those are the medical reports on them?" Veld asked, and Tseng nodded as he handed him the folder. Veld looked briefly through it. "I feel kind of lazy right now, let's offer them a trade instead of things getting messy." He turned on the microphone. "Welcome back. I have a proposition for you, to make it easier on us by not having to kill you all. One Douglas Campbell, in exchange for your newest member."

Fiona looked briefly conflicted as her love for her father fought with her lust for Duncan, but Gavin had no such conflict. "Take Duncan!" he blurted out, as the man in question just stared passively at the mirror.

"Very well. Thank you for your cooperation." Veld pressed two buttons, one that shut off the lights in the interrogation room, and another one that signaled his operatives.

Reno woke up in the bedroom of a very nice apartment feeling groggy, and got out of bed to look around. He found an envelope on the kitchen counter, and a cellphone fell out of it. Noticing the phone was off, he turned it on. A few moments later, it rang.

"Nice of you to join us." A male voice said on the other end.

"What makes you think I've joined you?" Duncan asked.

"You will if you're as smart as you seem to be. That apartment is yours if you want it. I'm texting you an address, be there in ten minutes." The man hung up.

Nine minutes and thirty nine seconds later, Duncan arrived at the address, which seemed to be some kind of gym.

"You took ten seconds longer than I thought you would, Duncan." A man said as he approached him.

"What am I doing here?" Duncan asked.

"Follow me." The man said. They entered the gym, and it was a regular gym, with men and women exercising. The man walked to an elevator, and Duncan followed him. It took them to the basement level, and Duncan was surprised to see an entirely different world when he walked after the man. They passed an area with combat training, a medical treatment section, some kind of technological station, and other areas Duncan didn't recognize. "This is where new recruits start their training." The man stopped in front of something like a classroom. "Go on in, everyone's waiting for you."

Duncan nervously stepped in. It had been five or six years since he had been in a classroom, before puberty. He saw an empty seat next to a big man with a bald head. "Did I miss anything?" he whispered to the man.

"How to avoid getting in trouble for whispering in class." the man replied.

He and Duncan looked at each other and smiled.

"I'm Rude, by the way." the bald man introduced himself.

"I'm…Reno." he replied, deciding to bury his past right then. He'd be the man Anna thought he was, rather than the one who got her killed.

Reno and Rude shook hands, as the instructor started talking about how to determine the best ways to infiltrate a building.


	5. Chapter 5

Reno was excited as he headed back to his place, tomorrow was his first solo mission. The last year had been amazing as he went through his training. Some of the combat skills he hoped he never had to use, but if he had to, he would. And he now was a licensed helicopter pilot, that had been part of his favorite aspect of training. He looked forward to seeing the whole world, since he had never been out of Midgar for his entire life. And he liked the other Turks-in-training he met, especially Rude. Reno felt like he was finally starting to live, not just survive. When he walked down the hallway to his door, he noticed it was slightly open. On alert, he put his hand on his rod as he cautiously opened his door, entering an unsafe area like he had been taught. He relaxed as he smelled a familiar perfume and put his rod down on the kitchen counter before closing the door and turning the lights on.

"Okay Scarlet, what do you want?" Reno asked.

"My job." Scarlet appeared in the doorway to his bedroom wearing an elegant red silk robe, and walked towards him. "I need to make sure you're ready for your big day tomorrow."

Reno frowned as she reminded him of Fiona. He had tried to distance himself from his previous existence, by starting to grow his hair out, since Fiona had kept his hair short, and by having plastic surgery to remove the burn scars on his face. He had them replaced with red tattoos just so he'd still have something there, having gotten used to marks on his face. And it was a big hit with the ladies, they wanted to solve the mystery of his tattoos' origin. He had never been with anyone but Fiona, but that had changed very quickly. Reno didn't like Scarlet, because of her resemblance to Fiona, not physically, but their personality in being an older woman in a leadership role who had the hots for him, and almost similar sexual preferences. Except Scarlet was not only smarter than her, but she had something Fiona lacked. Or maybe it was the other way around, Scarlet seemed to lack emotions, and when she had seduced him the first time, she made it vulgarly clear that she just wanted his dick on occasion, not him. He could fuck every woman on Gaia if it suited him, as long as he was available when she wanted her turn.

"You're going to be busy making sure all the other male Turks are ready for their big days. You could end up with friction burns." Reno told her as she stopped in front of him.

Scarlet smiled. "I love it when you get crass. I do believe you're learning." She unzipped his pants and stuck her hand inside, caressing him. "And how is _Big_ _Red_ tonight?" she asked tauntingly.

Reno grabbed her and put her on the counter, and Scarlet smiled again, this time in triumph as he plunged into her. All too soon it was over, but he had performed as she had expected, and her body was satisfied. She got up off the counter and adjusted her robe. "Good luck tomorrow." Scarlet said in a mocking tone, then she was gone, the lingering scent of her perfume leaving the only evidence of her presence.

Reno locked the door and grabbed his rod before heading to his bedroom. He had been given his weapon after his makeshift taser had been looked at by weapons experts and vastly improved. It had multiple functions, and he hadn't learned them all yet, but he looked forward to it. As he undressed and got into his bed, he realized he was too keyed up to sleep, and he grabbed his phone. He had learned that brothels would send out girls, but for double the fee because of the safety risk, and he called the nearby brothel he had visited a few times before. He preferred the brothel when he needed a woman, because even though he had been successful picking up women in bars and clubs, and he'd slept with some of his fellow female Turks, he didn't want to have them end up like Anna. The brothel was his safest bet, with the exception of Scarlet. He put in his order and waited. A few minutes later, there was a knock on his door. Reno looked in the peephole and saw the requested brunette. He only chose brunettes or blondes. Fiona had dark hair, and having sex with another redhead would make him feel like he was doing himself, and he didn't need to pay for that. He opened the door and she walked in, smiling when she saw him.

"Well, you're much better looking than my last job." she said in a sultry voice. "What's your pleasure?"

A couple hours later, Reno had finally worn himself out enough to sleep. He paid the girl, including the tip. "Be sure to call me again if you're ever in need. I'll even make sure you don't have to pay double. Ask for Lila." She told him and smiled as she dressed again. After she left, he went back to bed with a smile on his face and closed his eyes. His new life was perfect as far as he was concerned.

"Tomorrow's the big day. How many of our recruits do you think will pass their final exams?" Veld asked Tseng.

"We've been surprised before, sir. I prefer not to guess as to how they'll perform once they're not in a controlled environment anymore like the simulations we've given them until now." Tseng replied.

"How is that one we got from the Tongs…Duncan was it…doing?" Veld inquired.

"He goes by Reno now. And he doesn't have a discipline problem, but he does have an attitude problem. I've also heard he's becoming quite popular at the brothel owned by one of Don Corneo's rivals, and he's whining about us cutting into his profits."

"Attitude can be good, competition is better." Veld dismissed both of the concerns on Reno's behavior. "Tomorrow will answer any doubt about him, one way or another."

Reno's phone rang, and eventually it woke him up. Cursing as he read the time on his alarm clock, he turned his nightstand lamp on and grabbed his phone.

"Do you know what time it is?" Reno snapped as he answered the phone. "Yeah, that's me, who the hell is this?" Reno suddenly paled and felt weak. "Are you sure?" he whispered. "Okay, contact them and tell them the arrangements will be taken care of and paid for. Bill me just like you do now. Thanks for letting me know." Reno hung up the phone and just stared at it, feeling a heavy weight in his chest, along with an impotent rage boiling through his veins.

His nightstand lamp suddenly went dark and Reno went to check the switch when his front door was kicked in and he grabbed under his pillow for his rod and got out of bed so he wouldn't be trapped. But his fair skin was easy to spot in the darkness and before he could defend himself, the attackers rushing in were able to subdue him. It all happened so fast, and a bound, gagged, and blindfolded Reno was taken downstairs, still struggling and trying to escape. His abductors talked about wanting to knock him unconscious, but how they were under strict orders not to harm him if possible. He felt the cool air of a door to the outside being opened, then Reno heard a vehicle door open, and he was tossed onto a carpeted surface.

"You didn't hurt my stud, did you boys?" A familiar female voice asked, and the impotent rage Reno had felt earlier returned with a vengeance.

"There's a problem." Tseng hurried into Veld's office. "Someone beat us to the punch for the abduction scenario planned for the Reno's final exam."

"Someone else took him? Why is that a problem? It might work better this way if it's a true kidnapping." Veld replied calmly. "However, regardless of the outcome, we can't tolerate interference. That is a problem. Make an example of his abductors if Reno doesn't." Veld ordered Tseng.


	6. Chapter 6

Fiona removed the gag from Reno's mouth. "I hope you missed me, Duncan." she said as she caressed his cheek. "Does this remind you of old times?"

Reno managed to move his blindfold and his eyes didn't adjust to light in time to get more than a blurry look at Fiona before she reacted violently, but that confirmed what he suspected by the change in her voice, the last year had not been kind to her. He also saw that he was in some kind of van, with a driver and passenger, not counting Fiona and himself.

"No peeking!" she snapped and slapped his face hard, then turned instantly apologetic. "I don't want to hurt you, baby, not unless I have to. Why'd you change your appearance? You were so handsome..."

"Do I know you?" Reno asked, deliberately needling her to get more information about his situation, before he used his new skills to escape. He tried to ignore that part of him that wanted to make her pay for that phone call.

"I'm the one who's life you ruined when you left me." Fiona replied bitterly.

"I've left quite a few women lately, but I always left them satisfied, can you be more specific?" Reno sat up.

"Liar!" Fiona exploded violently again, with a hard slap to his other cheek. "You're mine, or did you forget I own your ass? You're gonna make it up to me though, and get me back in charge of the Tongs!"

"They kicked you out?" That did surprise Reno, though that explained her mental instability, given how important the Tongs were to her.

"Yes!" Fiona's voice was now loaded with the pain and rage she felt at that betrayal. "Daddy wasn't happy when Gavin told him that I ran over that little slut of yours. He said I was too emotional to be a good leader, and I needed to learn my lesson. But once he meets you, he'll understand, won't he?" Fiona caressed his cheek again and kissed him. "And you'll make up what I had to go through to get you back."

Reno scooted himself against the wall of the van, so Fiona couldn't see him get out of his handcuffs. The windows were rolled down, and Reno could tell from the smell that they were at the docks. The van slowed down, and then pulled to a stop. He heard the sliding door open, and Fiona getting out.

"I'll be back in a few moments lover, as soon as I get us inside." The door slammed shut, and Reno moved his blindfold again to watch what was going on. He could have freed himself from the rest of his restraints, but he didn't want to give that away just yet. The van was stopped in front of a warehouse, and when the doors opened, the van started driving inside. Reno hurriedly freed himself when he saw a fuel delivery truck pulling in behind them. He waited until the truck went to a fuel tank off to the side before he leapt into action. He opened the passenger door and shoved the thug out, then put the blindfold on the driver's neck and tied it tight to the seat, and swerved the van into the fuel truck while the driver was trying to free himself so he could breathe again. Reno barely had time to reach the back doors before impact.

Reno didn't know how much later it was, but he woke up to find himself partially covered by one of the back doors to the van. He was a little sore, but no serious injuries. He moved the door enough to get out from under it and looked around at the inferno in the warehouse. The smoke was worse than the flames, and he saw the handcuffs and grabbed them before looking for a way out, wishing he had something to cover his mouth and nose with, and his eyes too as they started feeling like they were burning. He managed to find the doorway when he heard a groan. He discovered Fiona seriously injured by debris from the explosion. Reno picked her up and carried her outside, laying her down gently near a fence.

"Duncan?" she whispered.

"Karma's a bitch, Fiona." Reno said coldly.

"What do you mean?" Fiona tried to marshal her thoughts, but she didn't feel right with all the pain she was experiencing.

"Duncan's dead. You killed him when you killed Anna." Reno handcuffed her to the fence.

"Anna?" It was Fiona's turn to be surprised. "That bitch survived somehow." she exclaimed angrily.

"She died yesterday from her injuries." Reno snapped his mouth shut before he revealed that he found out because he had flowers sent to Anna's bedside everyday, a rainbow bouquet of orchids because he didn't know what her favorite flower was, and that was nobody's business. The phone call earlier was from the florist to let him know it was unnecessary now.

A group of experienced Turks Reno recognized as all the instructors appeared then, and Reno realized they were the cleanup crew. Fiona saw them as well and knew what it meant.

"You're a Scotsman, how could you do this to me?" she cried out to Reno.

"Because I'm a Turk now." Reno turned and walked away from the last vestige of his past, ignoring Fiona's pleas for her Duncan to come back to her being silenced by a single gunshot.


	7. Chapter 7

"Here's your latest assignment, Reno." Tseng handed him a folder.

"What's so special about this girl?" Reno asked, skimming over the folder contents, and tossing the folder back onto Tseng's desk.

"She's the last of the Ancients. Invaluable research specimen. No harm is to come to her, and I mean **none**. The more respectable slum residents won't hurt her, because they appreciate the flower girl, but there are plenty of not-so-respectable residents as you well know." Tseng explained.

"Did you say flower girl?" Reno asked in an odd tone.

"Yes, that's how Aerith often gets referred to, since she tends the only successful flower garden in the slums. You start at 0800 tomorrow, and you'll be relieved at 1400."

"Sure thing, Boss." Reno left then, needing some time alone. He went back to his place and spent some time using his home gym, but that didn't help his inner disquiet. The last few years had all but erased his conscious memory of Anna, but being ordered to watch over a young 'flower girl' whose name also began with an A, that was too close for comfort for him. And she was the same age he had been when he had been forced to join the Tongs. He gave his punching bag one last jab and then decided he needed a shower. When he opened the shower door to grab a towel, one was handed to him.

"Just dropped by in case you had more questions about your assignment tomorrow. I volunteered, unless you'd prefer to have Hojo see you in the shower." Scarlet said with her usual malicious smile.

Reno started drying his hair with the towel. "Only question I have is how soon can I get rid of you?"

"That depends on you." Scarlet trailed her fingers over his chest and kissed him.

When she left a short while later, with wet marks all over the back of her dress from Reno holding her against the shower wall as they had sex, he felt slightly better. He had been rougher than he usually was with women, but it was Scarlet, so he didn't care.

Reluctantly reporting for his assigned surveillance on Aerith, Reno wished he could watch over her without having to actually look at her. She was prettier than Anna though, and he felt bad for thinking that. Aerith surprised him by knowing she was being watched, and it bothered him more than he wanted to admit when she would wave and smile at him just like Anna had. He had been not-so-covertly watching her for a year when she didn't leave her house at her usual time to go tend her flowers. Approaching the house with caution, he was peering in the living room window when a finger tapped him on the shoulder.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Aerith smiled at him.

Reno froze. "What did you just say?" he growled.

"Penny for your thoughts. I was told to say that to you." Aerith looked confused at his almost violent reaction. "What does it mean to you?"

"It means people need to mind their own business." Reno snapped. "Who told you to say that to me?"

"I'm…I'm not sure. I just hear things sometimes." Aerith admitted. "You don't look like the other Turks I've seen."

Reno stared at her. "You know who we are?"

"Of course, silly. Would you walk with me to the church?" she asked him.

"I don't think…" Reno started to say.

"You're here to watch over me, aren't you?" Aerith pointed out. "You better catch me, or something might happen." she said before running away.

"Hey, stop that!" Reno easily caught up to her with his longer legs and constant training, planting himself in her path.

"See, now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Aerith said as she stopped in front of him and recovered her breath. "Now will you walk with me? You're supposed to be my bodyguard after all, aren't you?" Aerith held her hand out to him, and Reno just stared at it like it was a poisonous gravel spider, so she took hold of his hand. "Let's go." Aerith smiled warmly up at him, and Reno felt himself unwillingly returning her smile.


	8. Chapter 8

Tseng was surprised by the strange look on Reno's face as the few remaining Turks were informed of Aerith's death at Sephiroth's hands. Tseng had never seem that expression on his second-in-command's face before. The usual attitude was gone, replaced by…nothingness.

"I'm taking my vacation now. I think I've got a month saved up of days off coming to me." Reno said flatly and walked out of Tseng's hospital room, leaving Rude and Elena staring after him.

Once back in his apartment, Reno started throwing some clothes in his travel bag, then he found himself staring at the little pot with one of Aerith's flowers in it on his nightstand.

" _Happy birthday!" Aerith said, walking up to him and handing him a flower pot._

 _Reno just started at her dumbfounded. "How did you know today was my birthday?" he asked._

" _I'm the last of the Ancients, remember? I have my ways, especially when you're not the only Turk I know." Aerith's eyes twinkled mischievously._

" _I can't take this." Reno tried to hand it back to her, but she refused._

" _Nonsense, this is one of the things friends do for each other. We are friends, aren't we?" Aerith's head turned towards her house as they heard Elmyra call Aerith back in for dinner. "I gotta go now, happy birthday again." Aerith kissed his cheek before hurrying back home._

" _Friends?" Reno looked at the pot, wondering what the hell he was going to do with it._

Reno zipped up his travel bag and grabbed the handles, then started to walk towards his front door, before going back and grabbing the flower pot. Taking it into the kitchen, he turned on the garbage disposal, and threw the pot in, flower and all to deal with the impotent rage he felt once again. "Turks don't have friends." Reno repeated one of the pet phrases the instructors had constantly repeated during the recruits' training, before shutting off the disposal and left his apartment, slamming the door behind him.

He ended up in Wutai, finding a nice bar to spend his vacation at. He drank his beer constantly, dredging up things he thought he had successfully buried. He had been such a fool for thinking his idea of joining the Turks to be a hero for Anna would pan out, that dream died when she did. Any dirty deeds he had to do as a Turk was no big deal, since there was no one to care about him anymore. He had already failed one innocent girl who trusted him by the time they recruited him, why should any other blood on his hands bother him after that?

"So what's good around here?" A familiar voice said, and Reno turned his head to see Rude there smiling at him, with Elena standing further back.

"What are you doing here?" Reno asked his partner, not paying much attention to Elena. Her older sister had mentioned her bratty kid sister a few times when she and Reno were partnered during their training, before Rude became his permanent partner. He didn't know if Elena knew that Reno and her sister had also been occasional bed partners as well, and he didn't want to ask. It had surprised him that quite a few of the female Turks in his 'class' had been virgins, but he had figured out it was because unlike him, they had trained for years to be accepted into the program, and that meant having no social life.

"We have vacations too, ya know." Rude answered as he sat down next to Reno and ordered a beer.

"This place has…atmosphere." Elena said, trying to find something positive to say about the bar.

"Are you a virgin?" Reno asked her, hoping she'd get upset and leave. He didn't want another inexperienced younger woman around him right now.

Elena's face turned red, but before she made it clear whether it was embarrassment or anger, a SOLDIER ran in, wanting to request their assistance.

Reno instantly sobered up when he and Rude found out Elena had been kidnapped by Don Corneo, and his reawakened rage refused to be impotent anymore. Once the truce with Cloud and co. paid off, he felt an immense satisfaction in disposing of Don Corneo. Rude couldn't reach Elena, since he wasn't much of a climber, but Reno could. He carried an apologizing Elena back down to the village.

"I ruined your vacation, didn't I?" Elena asked when he dropped her off at her hotel room.

"Not only was Don Corneo a fat slob of a pervert who dared go after a Turk, but his brothels were a bad joke. He got what was coming to him." Reno offered as way of an answer before heading back to the bar, though he really didn't feel like drinking anymore. He had finally been in time to save one woman who counted on him.


End file.
